William Tell knew something about hitting a target; although all he had to do was hit an apple on his kid’s head with an arrow. Targeting today is a whole new challenge; our task is hitting customers, not apples.

Marketing today is about targeting. The old days of blasting a message out into the world and betting on sheer numbers of audience are as gone as disco. Getting your message in front of a favorable demographic is the most efficient, effective ways to spend you marketing dollars. So how can you do that?

Promotional products have always provided a type of advertising that can target a specific group of people. Mass media (television, radio, print) can’t give you control over who (if anybody) might be reading, watching or listening to your ad.

However, you can control who receives a calendar, flashlight or t-shirt. You can deliver your message personally or use direct mail to put it squarely in front of them on their desk. This creates for you an opportunity in that person’s day to (William) Tell your story.